2008 Woodie Awards
Chic Classical Performance Mesmerizes
Joseph Rubel, Esq.
Issue date: 10/21/05 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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Oct. 13 came and went with a fabulous delight during the evening hours on the Rollins College campus. Once again the unbelievably extraordinary John M. Tiedtke Concert Hall was the venue for a performance of classical music.
Billed as a "Faculty Recital," Dr. Gloria Cook on piano and Ms. Joni Roos on violin, captured the hearts, minds and perhaps a few other body parts of just about the entire audience.
They began with a Mozart sonata (Sonata for violin and piano in A major, K 526). The sonata was one of Mozart's happier pieces, moving from softly to loudly with a variety of different uplifting passages. Cook, provided fresh, clear endings, a remarkable intensity of concentration and a mélange of passionate piano playing.
Roos wowed the audience with her musical ferocity, along with lively, enthusiastic violin playing. The duo moved on to two entirely different Debussy pieces ("La fille aux cheveux de lin" and "La plus que lent").
The music was beautifully tender and melodic. They were performed softly, delicately and with a strong sense of loving kindness. The performance of the first piece was so mesmerizing that when it came to a completion the audience was so enraptured by the music that almost no one thought to applaud. The musicians looked at each other like "why aren't they applauding, we've clearly finished the piece and we played beautifully?"
After a few brief moments, the artists made the correct decision to proceed to the second Debussy piece rather that wait for any sort of applause or movement from practically anyone in the audience. It was also a delight to see Cook's high heels digging in firmly to the awesome cherry wood stage.
After a very pleasant fifteen or twenty minute intermission, the musicians returned to the stage to a more modern work, "Graceful Ghost" Rag by William Bolcom. This was apparently the piece of the entire program that the musicians concentrated on the most. I don't have a lot to say about this piece except to note that both musicians looked at each other at the end of it, smiling, as if to say "we really nailed that one, didn't we?"
Billed as a "Faculty Recital," Dr. Gloria Cook on piano and Ms. Joni Roos on violin, captured the hearts, minds and perhaps a few other body parts of just about the entire audience.
They began with a Mozart sonata (Sonata for violin and piano in A major, K 526). The sonata was one of Mozart's happier pieces, moving from softly to loudly with a variety of different uplifting passages. Cook, provided fresh, clear endings, a remarkable intensity of concentration and a mélange of passionate piano playing.
Roos wowed the audience with her musical ferocity, along with lively, enthusiastic violin playing. The duo moved on to two entirely different Debussy pieces ("La fille aux cheveux de lin" and "La plus que lent").
The music was beautifully tender and melodic. They were performed softly, delicately and with a strong sense of loving kindness. The performance of the first piece was so mesmerizing that when it came to a completion the audience was so enraptured by the music that almost no one thought to applaud. The musicians looked at each other like "why aren't they applauding, we've clearly finished the piece and we played beautifully?"
After a few brief moments, the artists made the correct decision to proceed to the second Debussy piece rather that wait for any sort of applause or movement from practically anyone in the audience. It was also a delight to see Cook's high heels digging in firmly to the awesome cherry wood stage.
After a very pleasant fifteen or twenty minute intermission, the musicians returned to the stage to a more modern work, "Graceful Ghost" Rag by William Bolcom. This was apparently the piece of the entire program that the musicians concentrated on the most. I don't have a lot to say about this piece except to note that both musicians looked at each other at the end of it, smiling, as if to say "we really nailed that one, didn't we?"